Questions Cliff vegetation is diverse, understudied, and threatened by increased human disturbance. The growing popularity of rock climbing heightens the need for science‐based management to balance recreational use and conservation of cliff ecosystems. What has existing research revealed about the impact of climbing on vegetation? Are the conclusions consistent across the literature? If not, how can research methods be streamlined and standardized to produce more consistent results and reliable conclusions? Methods We present a review of vegetation‐focused climbing‐impact studies written in English. We compare study design and climbing‐specific considerations in 19 studies and report the impact of rock climbing on richness and abundance of lichens, bryophytes, and vascular plants. We then propose a set of best practices to guide design of future studies. Results Our work reveals that existing studies have employed widely differing methods for data collection and analysis. The effects of climbing on vegetation also varied among studies. Standardizing methods, such as pairing climbed and unclimbed transects or including a metric for climbing use, will generate more reliable and useful conclusions about the effect of climbing on vegetation. Conclusions Climbing will increasingly disturb cliff ecosystems. Our proposed best practices for climbing study methods are one way to produce more accurate information to inform climbing management plans, ultimately enhancing cliff conservation.